


infinity

by alicebishop



Series: Gay Vampires Universe [6]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Found Family, Gay Vampire Universe, Han Jisung is clueless, Lee Felix has a secret, Lee Minho is a cat dad, Lee Minho is tired of waiting, M/M, Stray Kids/Twilight Crossover, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 06:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30051471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicebishop/pseuds/alicebishop
Summary: "I stand up and walk away. Turn to look back at him. Keep walking.Oh my god.Did I just say goodbye?"Lee Minho will do anything to protect his family.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Bak Haseong (OC), Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: Gay Vampires Universe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214105
Kudos: 5





	1. new day

##### prelude, minho pov

My hands surge with electricity. I taste venom pooling in my mouth.

I’m about to die.

If I have to give up my life, I won’t make it easy. I’m going to fight. I’m going to claw and struggle and do as much damage as I can.

I’m going to kill Aro before he can kill me.

##### chapter 1

Roaming the endless aisles of the flower market, booths stocked only with plants and gardening tools and big bags of dirt — Jisung is like a kid in a candy store. It’s adorable to watch him get all excited about slouching little sprouts, shouting in Latin every time he sees a pretty flower.

“Oh my lord, Minho, look — hibiscus arnottianus! Do you _know_ how rare this is? Ooh they have floribunda and malva alcea too!”

“Casting spells again, babe?”

“Oh shush. Excuse me, how much are these?”

My mind wanders while he bargains with the vendor. Someone ribs me as they shove through the crowd. The aisles are barely wide enough to accommodate the foot traffic. Jisung told me to prepare myself for mayhem, but I was not expecting _this._ I’ve already seen a dogpile and an old woman roundhouse someone into a stack of ceramic pots.

“Minho!” Jisung has moved on to the next booth. I catch up, holding my breath as I squeeze through the crowd of humans. Though the smell of blood doesn’t have the same power over me as it did when I was a newborn, I can’t ignore how perfect the scent is, especially mixed with the sweet pollen of flowers.

He’s picking through a rack of paper packets. “Look at all these seeds. Some kind of ranunculus would go great with the cherry tree.” He hands me a stack and pays the person in the booth. “C’mon, let’s keep moving, there’s supposed to be an amorphophallus titanum around here somewhere.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it, wingardium leviosa.”

He waves me away. “Hey, how many bags of soil do you think the garden beds need?”

“The small ones or the big ones?”

“All of them.”

“Well. A lot, probably. Eleven?”

“We’ll go with fourteen,” he says to the vendor. He heaves a lumpy bag into my arms, and I drop it into the wagon.

“Isn’t this something we could buy closer to home? It’s just dirt.”

“It’s _soil,_ my love.”

“What’s wrong with the soil at home? It’s good enough for Kokoa to eat.”

“Kokoa still tries to eat her litter. And it’s better because it’s _alive,_ it’s bedrock and mountains broken down over eons. You can find dirt caked behind Hyunjin’s ears, but _soil_ on the other hand—”

Suddenly he gasps and grabs my arm. My heart leaps into my throat, my mind leaps to the worst — life or death, the end of the world, fiery armageddon — and then he starts shouting in Latin again.

“Amorphophallus titanum! Jesus Christ — are you _seeing_ this?”

I palm my forehead, coming down from a panic. “Jisungie, please don’t do that.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I startled you.”

“I thought you saw the Volturi. Or something.”

His expression dims, but he smiles, takes my hand.

“We’re safe, my love. You don’t have to worry, I do that for you.”

I want to say that I worry anyway, I’m always worried, especially lately. I just nod.

We leave the soil vendor and head toward the exhibition. The flower Jisung was talking about is obviously revered — roped-off with unblinking security guards watching it — though the actual thing is sort of ugly. Big and cool, but ugly.

“Magnificent,” Jisung whispers, hopping up on his tiptoes. “Damnit, I can barely see from here.”

I hug my arms around his waist, lift him up so he can see over the botany freaks.

“Are you gonna buy it?” I ask.

“Me? God no — do you _want_ to lose the house?”

“I’d rather not, I live there.”

“This flower is really rare, reeeeeally expensive — and frankly, it just wouldn’t fit in with the rest of my garden. Don’t tell them I said that.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Let’s check the outdoor section. Hopefully people aren’t getting too rowdy out there.”

“I dunno, I saw a pack of grammies with garden sheers heading that direction.”

He sighs solemnly. “I wish I could say I was surprised.”

* * *

Jisung and I walk through the forest with our cargo in tow. The moonlight is muddled by clouds, weak through the tree canopy. An owl is hooting softly somewhere in the branches, crickets are hidden in the grass.

“I shouldn’t have gotten it,” he says. “I already have one, I just — the shape of the nozzle is better for light showers, okay? Lord help me, have I gone mad with power?”

“It’s just a new watering can, honey.”

He clutches it to his chest. “The old one is gonna be so upset with me.”

As we draw closer and closer to the cabin, the sounds on the wind change. Not just leaves fluttering, animals in the thicket — bumping, scuffing. It could be Kokoa making a mess in the cabinets, but the noises are slower, heavier than I know her footsteps to be.

And then I realize, there’s more than one. Hushed breath, feet and fabric dragging across the floor.

There are vampires in our house.

I grab Jisung’s arm, hold him back. “Someone’s in the house.”

He goes motionless as he listens. His eyes widen, quiver with fear.

“If they’re inside, they already know,” I stammer. My guts are twisting in knots. I knew this was coming but I didn’t think it would be now. Today is just another day, lovely and quiet, only the two of us, the same as last night and the one before that. Has Felix already seen them arrive? Is he trying to reach us now?

“Jisung, say something,” I murmur, “what are they thinking?”

“I can’t read their minds from out here, it’s too far.” He looks into my eyes. “We have to do this now. Are you ready?”

“Do I have any other fucking choice? No, there are no other options, we’re dead and—”

He takes my face in his hands. “Stop, my love. We’ll be okay. We’ve planned for this. Breathe in and out.”

My voice is choked. “I don’t want to lose this.”

“Never. This will always be our life, you and me, okay?” He takes my hand. “Hold me, don’t let go. You’re brave, Minho, you always have been. Remember that.”

All I can do is follow as he takes off running toward the house. I want to say goodbye to each tree that passes, each knot in the bark, burrow in the ground and birds’ nest in the branches. Sixteen years getting to know the land and every inch feels like a part of me.

The house appears through the trees, small across the field before us. Despite the wild, bright flowers climbing up the sides, the hummingbird feeders hanging from the eave — our home feels like a threat.

Jisung stutters to a halt, yanking me back into him. His face is abruptly a scowl.

“Oh my god,” he says. “Listen.”

I focus on the house, the sounds inside it. A voice speaks up.

“Oh shit, they’re coming! Faster, quicker, hurry, rush!”

We both run forward, up the steps and open the sliding door. Seven heads whip around. Changbin is dressed up in a fuzzy pink rabbit costume. Hyunjin is holding a groundhog in each arm. Jeongin is on Haseong’s shoulders, hanging a banner that reads ‘Happy Everything!’

“What the fuck is happening?” says Jisung.

Seungmin pops the lid off a tube and a clump of confetti falls out. “Surprise.”

“What are you two doing back so early?” Chan exclaims. “We didn’t have enough time to prepare!”

“The market closed early,” Jisung says. “Someone overwatered the amorphophallus titanum and everybody went feral. What in god’s name are you doing in our house — you scared me!”

“Yeah, you scared him!” I say.

“Cool your pits, boys,” says Felix, casually stepping out of the fridge. “We’re celebrating the All-idays.”

“All-idays?”

“All the holidays. We decided to combine all the celebrations into one mega-party and get it done in one go.”

Chan pulls me and Jisung into a hug. “We missed you two as well. Paraguay is so horribly far away.”

“We just saw you for New Year’s Eve.” Jisung leans ruefully into the hug. “What else is there to celebrate?”

“Groundhog Day!” Hyunjin lifts the squirming animals in his arms.

“Easter.” Changbin blows a floppy ear out of his face.

“Valentine’s Day.” Jeongin shoots a squeaky heart-shaped arrow at the floor.

“It’s also the one-hundred year anniversary of my liberation,” Felix says proudly. “Independ-lix Day, if you will.”

“Hey, where’s Kokoa?” I’m on my knees, rummaging around inside the kitchen cupboards. She isn’t in any of her favourite pots.

“Here.” Changbin turns around; the cat is locked onto his back by her teeth and claws. I run over and pull her into my arms. I still feel tense, shaky. Her gentle purring eases my mind, my wedding ring catching on her collar feels like home.

Jisung is rubbing his temples. “‘Calling beforehand’ is still a foreign concept to you guys, huh?”

“Last time I checked, your house wasn’t reservation-only,” says Seungmin.

“We had no idea you were here! You could’ve been anyone, even the… you know.”

“Has all that been weighing heavily on your minds?” Chan’s golden eyes are uneasy.

“Sometimes,” Jisung says.

“A lot,” I say.

“All the more reason to party!” Hyunjin sets the groundhogs down on the floor. “Cut a rug, friends!”

They immediately scamper out the door.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Hyunjin sighs. Seungmin and Jeongin both rush to comfort him.

“Can I take this goddamn costume off now?” Changbin drops his carrot to reach for the zipper.

“Wait, we haven’t taken pictures yet!” Hyunjin wrestles his camera out of the front of his hoodie. Felix and Chan follow suit, playing paparazzi while Changbin pretends to cringe away from the flashing lights.

Jeongin is looking at me, eyes narrowed. “Are you okay, Minho?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re holding the cat pretty tight.”

I loosen my grip a little. “Right. I’m… worried. Scared. More and more, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Jisung comes over, cups my face. “My love.”

“Minho,” Haseong says, “I hope you know, as long as I’m alive, I won’t let anything happen to you — any of you. That is my promise.”

I smile and lie. “I know.”

“Nothing is set in stone,” Changbin says. “It’s best to play it by ear. Right, Felix?”

He and Felix share a look. Felix casts his eyes down, clenching his jaw.

“Right,” he says.

“Do you wanna talk about it, Min?” Seungmin asks.

“No. I’m sorry I’m being a bummer, we can celebrate the All-idays or whatever.”

Hyunjin’s hand raises slowly.

“Oh no,” says Jisung.

Hyunjin throws his arms around us. “Group hug!”

The others pile on as well. Felix takes my hand, gives me a smile, though he looks as tense as I feel.

Something has to be done. Something has to change.


	2. rehearsal

##### minho pov

I met my family in 2005. I found my brothers and the love of my life, and they welcomed me as if they had been waiting for me. I became a vampire, got married, we adopted a cat — everything was perfect. On the surface, at least.

Vampire life comes with restrictions. First and foremost: humans can never know about us. I had to cut all ties with my mother and father, let them believe I’d died in a car crash. For years I hid away, missing them, watching them mourn from a distance.

It was eating away at me. I wanted to believe I was strong enough not to need them, but I still felt 17, like a kid pretending to be an adult.

Only one rule to follow… and I broke it. Kind of.

I came up with a work-around. If I didn’t tell my parents I was a vampire specifically — just that I was different, not dead as they had believed — would that technically be breaking the law? Could I really be prosecuted?

Worst case scenario, I would be executed — I let the secret out, I’m the one responsible — as well as Jisung, my primary creator, my accomplice. My parents, the sole humans who know, would be killed, and likely my coven as well, as they facilitated my crime. (To say nothing of Felix’s history with the Volturi.)

I can’t say I regret telling my parents that I was alive. It had hurt like nothing else to know that they were in pain, grieving my death. But sometimes I wonder if it was worth _this._ Their heads are on the line and they don’t even know it. I’m afraid the worst case scenario is worse than I can imagine.

* * *

The words are blurring together and my eyes keep slipping away. Jisung is puttering in the kitchen, making soup in our biggest pot.

He catches me looking. “Has Mr. Elton proposed to Emma yet?”

“What?”

“In the book?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

He smiles dubiously and goes back to chopping basil. I get off the couch and root around in the cupboard, pull out the hand blender and pass it to him.

“Thank you, my love.”

“You’re welcome.” I push myself up onto the counter and swing my legs.

“You okay?” he asks after a moment.

“Jisungie, can we go over the plan again? You know, for the Volturi…?”

“Oh. Of course.” He leans back against the counter. “So, once they decide to come, our only warning will be Felix. In all honesty, I’m not sure he’ll see it fast enough — Italy is so far away, plus they’ll probably set out with pure intentions.”

“I was thinking that too.”

“They’ll either visit the guys in Paraguay or come here. Both will mean a date will be set for our trial. I’m not sure if they’ll send for the guard to meet us here, or if we’ll all go to Volterra.”

“We’ll tell them that we didn’t do anything wrong,” I say. “My parents have known for twelve years and they haven’t told anyone. I’ve never said the word ‘vampire,’ used my abilities, shown myself in the sunlight or fed around them. We have behaved according to the law.”

He smiles at my rehearsal. “Yes. And it’s to our advantage that we’re useful, we’re willing to serve a sentence to pay off our debt. My mind reading, your…” He still isn’t sure what to call it. “Electricity? We’d be beneficial powers to have in their arsenal. Felix, Changbin and Seungmin will give themselves over as well if need be.”

I look down. Felix hates the Volturi more than anyone, but he promised to enlist if worst came to worst. Just because he loves me, they all do. I feel like I’ve already given them their sentence.

“Hey.” Jisung stands between my legs, reaches up to cup my cheeks. “Talk to me.”

“I feel… responsible. It’s because of me, all of it.”

“Don’t say that. You can’t bear this alone.”

“I want to fix it.”

“You can’t do that alone either.”

I drop my head back against the cabinet. “Back to the plan. What will it be like? If we join the Volturi?”

“I can’t say for sure. Those who know what it’s like are either dead or still on the inside. But I do know what a strike looks like. You know, because of ’22. We’d stay in the back with the guard, fight if need be, witness if need be.”

“Stand by and watch people be executed?”

He winces. “Yeah. Hopefully they won’t try to split us up for missions. I don’t know how long it would last. That part would be negotiated.”

“Do you have a guess?”

“I dunno, as far as I know, no one’s ever bargained their gifts before.”

“Do you have a guess?”

He just looks up at me for a second, gauging whether or not to say it. “Anywhere from a hundred years to a millennium.”

I can’t imagine such a long time. I want a thousand years of life, but I want it here, not inside a stone palazzo on the other side of the world.

“And… what if there is no bargaining?” I say. “What if they decide we’ve broken the law and we have to die?”

He flinches at the word. “That won’t happen.”

“Jisungie, you know it could. But… I just wonder… could we run? Like Fei did?”

“Fei got lucky, my love. That was in 1763, the guard were weaker back then. And once we run, we’re fugitives. Is that really the kind of life you want?”

“Instead of being dead? Of course. As long as you’re there. But… compared to this?” I gesture around our house, at the digital piano on the kitchen table, the framed picture of the nine of us above the stove, the sleeping cat on top of the fridge. “Nothing can compare to this. I wanna be a thousand-year old vampire, still hanging around with you.”

“So do I, love. This is where we belong.”

I look down at his hands on my legs. I lift them to my lips and kiss them.

“Did you know?” I ask quietly. “Telling my parents, ignoring the law — did you know how terrifying it would be?”

“All I knew was that you were unhappy and I… I wasn’t enough to help you.”

“Jisung, you—”

“You needed your parents, Minho. I need mine too, but they… aren’t coming back. Yours were so close, alive, missing you. I couldn’t keep saying you had to stay away when it was tearing you apart. I don’t care about the repercussions, I don’t care about the future — fuck the Volturi and fuck their laws.”

I just stare at him, letting the seconds tick away. Love blinds him, it always has. He’s giving me his life in too many ways, the wrong ways.

“Minho?”

“You protect me,” I murmur.

“Of course I do.”

“I have to protect you too. You can’t blame me for doing that.”

“What does that mean?”

I shrug. “I love you more than anything, Jisungie.”

He smiles up at me, says it back, but there’s a little wrinkle of worry between his eyes.

##### haseong pov

“Haseong, relax.”

I take a deep breath. Chan and I are lying on the couch — he must be able to feel my tension.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you? What to do about The Volturi?”

“It’s my responsibility to think about it.”

“Come up with anything?”

“Just what I’ve already told you. Flee, hide, drop off the grid entirely. Feels like doom.”

He pinches my chin. “We’ve been on the run from the law before, haven’t we?”

I smile a little. “The navy and the Volturi are different animals altogether.” I bow my head against his shoulder. “It just feels so… unfair. It’s already been difficult enough to relocate every decade — imagine moving every few months, never making a home again.”

“I’m home as long as I’m with you, sweetheart. As for the guys… they’re rational. They’ll understand it’s the best course of action.”

“Even if we do go into hiding… nothing is certain.” My voice lowers to a murmur. “Chan, have I been too slow to act? Do they think I’m full of shit, a failure?”

“That’s your fear talking. They know you do everything you can. Remember you’re human too. Well, you know what I mean.”

“I promised to protect this family. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

He strokes my hair. “That’s better. When should we put this plan into action?”

“Let’s keep it quiet for a while, maybe till the seasons change. In the meantime, we’ll find a way to sell off the land and livestock.”

“Where shall we go first?”

I look up at him. “Anywhere. You’re my home too, you know.”

He smiles. “I know. Now loosen up. Enjoy the time we have left here.”

He hums a soft melody. I close my eyes and listen.


	3. catalyst

##### minho pov

Rain is falling outside, the sky a haze of silver. I’m ready to stay inside, waste the day away playing video games. Or, at least, look like I am. I’m sitting on the floor, laptop open on the coffee table in front of me.

“I’m not asking the clouds to go away, just to stop raining.” Jisung adjusts his visor, looking out the window. “What a fucking place to be a gardener.”

“Your love nourishes the flowers.”

“Compost helps. You waiting for Felix?”

“Mm.”

“I still don’t know why you sit on the floor. The couch is right behind you.”

“It’s a part of my process.” I put my headset on. “Also it’s better for the lumbar.”

A text lights up my screen. ‘We need to talk.’ I reply with a less ominous ‘Sir i’m just here for material.’

Jisung bends down, holds my mic out of the way so he can kiss me. “I’ll be outside.”

“God speed.”

He steps out and closes the door behind him. The computer chimes and I accept Felix’s call. His face is flat and serious — completely still, for a second I think the screen has frozen. The view behind him is just a single chair and a sun-burnt field out the window.

“Hell’ve you been up to?” he says.

“I got a new skin, what do you think?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

I stretch to peek out the window. Jisung is hunkered over a bed of begonias on the far side of the yard. I enter the game and let it play while I speak.

“Is anyone else there?”

“No, they’re out in the fields.”

“Have you seen the future change?”

“It’s shifted. You made a decision a few days ago. Minho, what’s going on?”

“The whole thing with the Volturi… I can’t take it anymore. I want a new plan, any plan at all. I have an idea, but I know Jisung won’t like it, and neither will you.”

“What is it?”

“I wanna get it over with. I wanna go to Volterra and confess.”

It looks like the screen is frozen again. I tap the camera.

“You’re fucking serious?” Felix spits. “Tell me you’re taking the piss.”

“I don’t want to be on defence anymore, I wanna make things happen instead of waiting for them to happen on their own.”

“Why are you telling me?”

“Because I want you to help me. You’re my best friend, you’re good at getting shit done, and I can’t do it on my own.”

“Why aren’t you doing this with Jisung?”

“Because… Jisung, he shouldn’t have to be a part of this. His life is so full.” I look out the window again. “He needs to take care of his flowers. They’ll die without him.”

“You realize he’d have a full-blown meltdown if he knew what you’re thinking?”

“I’m aware.”

Felix rubs his eyes between his fingers. “Okay okay okay, gimme your plan.”

“I’ll suggest we visit you guys, then you and I make up an excuse to leave — surprise trip to a volcano or a space station or something. We’ll go to the Volturi and I’ll, very humbly, confess myself, then it’s up to them.”

“Do you know how unlikely it is that they’ll just up and _forgive_ you?”

“I’m not expecting that. My gift is strong — when I want it to be, at least. I’ll give myself over to them however long they want me, and then everyone will be okay.”

“Except you.”

“That’s not the point.”

“I’ll offer myself too.”

“No, I don’t want you to.”

“Tough shit. Minho, what if they decide to kill you? You’re just gonna let ‘em do it?”

“If they think what I’ve done is wrong, they’re going to kill me whether I go to them or they come to me. But honesty could score some points I wouldn’t have otherwise. I could… bargain my life for Jisung’s life, your life, my parents’ lives.”

“You’re talking about ‘points’ as if the Volturi are some kinda loyalty program. The reason I can’t see their decisions clearly is because, yeah, they levy strict rules and strict punishments, but the way they enforce those rules are unpredictable. The Volturi are corrupt, biased and—”

“Yeah yeah yeah, and one of the things they’re biased against is our coven, don’t you think I know that? I’ve heard the history, and — er, and — and I’m coming up on your left, I think there’s a llama close by.”

Jisung slides the door open and tramps in, his whole body covered in mud. He splashes his face with water from the kitchen sink.

“You okay, baby?” I ask.

“The rain is turning the whole yard into a swamp. I _may_ have slipped.” He tries to reach down the back of his shirt. “It got down my back, for god’s sake. I’ll have to shower later.”

“Will you be showering alone?”

He just smirks, shakes his head. “Hi, Felix.”

Felix has his face in his hands. “Jisung.”

Jisung heads back out the door. I wait till he’s far out in the yard to look back at the screen.

Felix isn’t amused. “I’m gonna pretend that didn’t just happen. Minho, what you’re talking about is mad.”

“It’s gonna happen one way or another — I’m speeding up the process. I got us into this shit and I’m done ignoring it, waiting for Haseong to fix it — I don’t even think he _can_ fix it. I want to be the one who protects this family for once.”

He goes quiet, staring at me. His face has changed. Sometimes I see a different person in him, another Felix from another time rising to the surface.

“You know what they did to my mother,” he murmurs.

“I do.”

“After you and Jisung got together… I’ve been thinking about the Volturi more and more. Knowing they could take you two away from me as well…” He goes quiet again.

“Felix, what are you thinking?”

He leans in to the camera. “Look, Minho, if you want me to commit to this, you have to realize I’m gonna _commit._ I have stakes in this, I have objectives that’ve been on my mind since before you even conceived of going out on your own.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Once we decide, there’s no going back. Do you get that?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

We stare at each other through the screen. He nods slowly, chews on his lip. His mind is miles away, farther than Paraguay. Him and his stakes and objectives. I know not to ask about it. As long as it doesn’t get in the way, I don’t care what he might have up his sleeve.

“Okay,” he says. “I need three concessions in order to do this right. Firstly, one more person in the know, one more person who’ll be in the room with us and the Volturi.”

“Ask Changbin, his gift is useful.”

Felix’s face tightens. “No, not him. I’m gonna ask Seungmin, he’s a good fighter, he won’t snitch.”

“Are you gonna tell anyone else?”

“No, the smaller the circle the better. Second, time. I need three weeks, maybe a month. Can you wait that long?”

“Definitely.”

“Third — if Jisung suggests going to visit the Denali coven, or the Pointe-Noire coven or the Chongqing coven, etcetera etcetera etcetera — say no. No contact with other vampires. If they come to see you, just tell them that you don’t want to talk about anything regarding me and send them on their way. Don’t let them tell you anything. Controlling the flow of information is key.”

“Is there anything else I can do?”

“Act normal, like there’s nothing going on, but… make sure you give everybody a goodbye before we go. Just in case.”

“Right… of course.” I look out the window again. Jisung is kneeling in the muck, occasionally looking up to shake his fist at the sky.

When I look back at the computer, it feels very, very real.

“Hey, chin up.” Felix pokes the camera. “You did the right thing, coming to me. I might be your saving grace.”

I smile, palming my face. “Thank you, Felix. You’re awesome. Wanna respawn and actually play?”

“Afraid not, I got shit to do now. I’m gonna be MIA on and off for the next few weeks. If anyone asks, just give them a ‘you know how he is.’”

“Sure.” He’s about to end the call, but I stop him. “Felix, wait. Really, thank you. I trust you with my life.”

He gives me a smile but it’s heavy and uncertain. “Same here, bro.”

He hangs up. I pull off my headset, slump back against the couch, kneading at a headache. The plan isn’t just in my head anymore, Felix is involved, and soon Seungmin will be too. In a month’s time, we’ll be inside the Volturi’s palazzo, our lives in their hands, and the ones we love most will have no idea.

##### felix pov

I shut the laptop, cup my face in my hands. A thirty minute FaceTime with Minho and my entire life has changed. Minho thinks the stakes are high for _him._ He truly doesn’t know the half of it. I didn’t tell him the half of it.

I get up, open the door — and stop dead in my tracks.

Changbin is standing at the end of the hallway, eyes livid.

“Felix, what the fuck did you just do?”

I check up and down the hallway. “I-I didn’t see you were listening.”

“I was listening from the start. What the hell? You’re really enabling Minho’s lie? What about Jisung? You didn’t even take a moment to _think_ about it.”

I start toward the stairs. “I thought about it, I’m not a child.”

He follows me. “Don’t just walk away! The fuck did you say about goddamn objectives and stakes? You _cannot_ be talking about what I think you are — we had a plan, you promised me! You’re gonna get yourself k—”

I turn back on him. “I know what’s on the line, Changbin — of all people, I know!”

“You’re just making everything worse!”

“Not unless it pays off.”

“But it won’t! It’ll never pay off, I thought you would understand that! Haseong said he’d take care of it — why can’t you trust him? Why do you have to put everything we’ve built in the hands of the Volturi?”

“Because it’s already in their hands! This way or that way, this decision or that decision — they’re gonna take one or two or _all_ of us, just like they did to my mother, and I’m so fucking sorry if I’m done living under their boot, _waiting_ to be crushed!”

Changbin’s eyes betray him, teary and scared. “All those years ago… when I found out you, that you… I never thought you’d take it this far. You shouldn’t have given it a thought, let alone… _this._ Felix, it’s a death sentence.”

“Maybe. But it’s too late now, isn’t it? I won’t give it up, and I refuse to fail.”

“Do you know who you sound like right now?”

I do. But I just shake my head, turn and walk away.


	4. spiral

##### minho pov

After years of waiting for disaster, having a due date is both a relief and a whole new set of worries. I no longer feel like a sitting duck, blissfully ignorant to the impending danger. But every time I walk in the forest, spend a movie night with Jisung, go to my father’s house — I’m aware that there are only three, two, one of these evenings left.

Seungmin, Jeongin and Hyunjin come to visit us, and Seungmin and I manage to sneak away for a run while the others skip rocks at the beach.

“I… didn’t expect it,” he says. “It was kind of surreal — Felix telling me what you two had planned. I’d been trying to block out the Volturi problem. Healthy disassociation or whatever.”

“It’s not really a happy place, is it?”

“Not really. But it involves all of us, whether or not we’re willing to admit it. And now it involves me _quite_ a bit…”

I laugh. “I’m sorry. I got you into this shit — all of you.”

“Trust me, the drama between us and the Volturi didn’t start with you. Besides, it’s risky for all of us.”

“I wonder… why are you doing it? Helping me and Felix?”

“Why?” He shrugs. “Because you’re my brothers. I wanna make sure you’re safe.”

I pout. “Min.”

He rolls his eyes, stifling a smile. “I know, Min.”

“It must be hard. You know, with Hyunjin and Jeongin. I only have one husband to worry about.”

He laughs. “It’s scary, yeah. But I know they would’ve done the same if Felix had asked one of them instead of me.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Speaking of him — Felix is planning something. Something he’s not telling us.”

“I think so too.”

“Whatever it is, hopefully it’ll be helpful. We’re gonna need it.”

My conversation with Seungmin doesn’t do much to ease my worries. After they leave, as the days tick down, it only gets worse. Jisung notices — naturally, because he always notices — that my anxiety is acting up.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, my love.”

“Nothing, I’m fine. Do we really have to have this conversation again?”

He takes my face, makes me meet his eyes. “If you’re trying to protect me or something, cut it out. I wanna help you any way I can.” But his voice is clipped. “We can talk about the Volturi more, if that’s what it is.”

I sigh. “Okay, look, you’re right. I’ve been stressed lately. It’s because… there’s this guy in my life, and I love him so fucking much that sometimes I feel like I’m gonna keel over and die.”

He laughs and rolls his eyes. “Whoever is this guy?”

“He’s right here.” I lean in to kiss his cheeks and forehead, memorizing his scars.

“It’ll pass. You know that, don’t you, my love? Good and bad comes and goes, you’ll feel better, I promise.”

“Of course.”

The thing is, it won’t pass. D-day will come and everything will be different afterward. Either I’ll be inducted into the Volturi, my only comfort that Jisung is home, safe, not stuck paying for a crime he didn’t commit, or I’ll be dead. There’s a chance I could make it if Seungmin, Felix and I managed to flee, but that would only be delaying the inevitable, wouldn’t it?

Thoughts like that, that death is inevitable, become more and more commonplace. It scares me. Sometimes I wish I was already on the way to Italy — the anticipation is hell.

And then Felix calls.

“I’m totally at home.” He totally isn’t. “You guys should come over. Soon. Maybe tomorrow. It’s getting boring over here, I wanna see your adorable faces.”

“Really, Felix? Is now a good time for everyone or…?” I can’t be too clear about what I’m asking — Jisung is next to me.

“Yeah, it’s a fine time, why wouldn’t it be? Crops are winding down, though, so don’t expect too much agricultural merriment. I’m afraid we’ve reaped all the mandioca for the season, Jisungie.”

His shoulders slump. “Damn.”

“So y’all coming or what?”

Our eyes meet. He shrugs and smiles. I return it, though my entire chest is tight.

“We’ll be there Tuesday,” I say. “I want to have dinner with my parents first.”

“Good call. See you guys soon.”

* * *

“Why’s it telling me I’m not logged in!?”

Charlie is shouting from the dining room. Jisung and I play a quick game of rock paper scissors; he plods off to help his father-in-law with the damned technology. I stay in the kitchen, heating up enough tomato soup for four people.

“It’s saying you’re not logged in because you’re not logged in,” Jisung says in the other room. “What’s your password?”

Charlie’s eyes narrow. Jisung turns his back while Charlie types.

“Does it work now?”

“Looks like it. Thanks, son.”

Jisung comes back to the kitchen, satisfied. He’s finally gotten on Charlie’s good side, and it only took him ten short years of ass-kissing and homemade food deliveries.

“Can you grab the bowls?” I ask.

He rummages around in the cupboards. “You ready to eat?”

“I’m petrified. I hated tomato soup when I was _alive_ — imagine how it’ll taste now.”

“Minho!” Billy calls.

“What’s the computer doing now?”

“No, I picked up some garlic bread to go with the soup. Couple minutes in the microwave should be enough.”

“Oh, great.” I take the bread out, wrap it in foil and put it into the microwave. Nothing happens when I press the start button.

“Should I ask how to fix it?” Jisung says.

“No no.” I check over my shoulder before I lay my palm on top of the microwave. My arm braces and lashes back as electricity jolts out of me. The light inside the microwave flickers on and the bread starts spinning.

“That works too,” he murmurs.

I shake my hand out. Depending on the voltage, my gift stings like — well, like an electric shock, so I avoid using it when I can. I always feel it, the power, buzzing under my skin. It’s why Jisung couldn’t read my thoughts, even when I was a human — there has always been an electric field inside me, protecting me.

I’ve been wondering — what else would it protect me from? The Volturi guard’s deadly gifts, Aro’s soul-reading? Felix can foresee my decisions just fine, so I know I’m not untouchable. What about fighting? I can’t imagine getting a death sentence and taking it lying down. If I have to die, it won’t be quiet and it won’t be pretty.

“Minho, Jisung!” Charlie shouts. “Someone’s calling!”

Jisung goes to help him while I collect my thoughts, taking the bread out of the microwave. I take a bowl of soup in each hand and head out into the dining room. Charlie’s iPad is propped-up on the table, my mother’s face on the screen.

We all say hi at the same time. Mom’s mouth is moving but we can’t hear her.

“I think it’s muted, Mrs. Lee,” Jisung says gently.

Mom’s brow furrows. She pokes the screen until the sound miraculously comes back.

“Hi, boys!”

“Kokoa’s here, too.” Billy holds her up for Mom to see.

“Hi, Kokoa!” Mom tilts her screen down so we can see what she’s made for herself. “I heated up some tomato soup too. Now we might as well be all together in one room.”

“Tomato soup from a can?” Charlie squints into the camera.

“Unfortunately, yes. I know it won’t be as good as yours, Jisung.”

He beams. “It’s because the tomatoes are from my garden.”

“How do you manage that in _Forks_ of all places?”

Jisung and Mom launch into a gardeners’ conversation. I dip my spoon into the soup and touch it to my tongue. Tastes like dirt. I put a spoonful in my mouth and it slides laboriously down my throat.

I feel like the night ends just as it began. Suddenly all the bowls are empty except for two, and Kokoa is flaked out in Billy’s lap.

“I should go,” Mom says. “Phil has an early game tomorrow and I have to be there.” She pretends to gag. “No no no, it’ll be fun. But I’ll bring my Kindle too, just in case.”

“Say hi to Phil,” Charlie says.

“Sure will.” Mom sends flying kisses into the camera. “Love you, bye bye bye.”

“Wait, Mom,” I say. “I, uh, miss you. I love you so much, I always will.”

She looks a little surprised. “I love you too, honey. Let’s talk sometime soon, okay?”

“Yeah… that’d be great.”

The call ends. I get up quickly and take as many dishes as I can carry to the kitchen. Jisung is on my heels.

“Are you feeling okay, my love?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Have you been missing your mom? We can go to Phoenix tomorrow instead of Paraguay — I’m up for anything.”

“No, that’s fine. Thanks, though. I just… sometimes I miss her.”

He gives me a kiss on the cheek and helps me with the dishes.

“Remember not to let her out, okay?” I say as we head to the front door. “Kokoa’s getting old, she can’t just wander around anymore. And I know you don’t think it’s necessary, but _please_ brush her teeth at least once.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” says Charlie, “I know the drill. Where’re you two going this time?”

“A trip to see my family,” Jisung says. “We’ll be back sometime within the week.”

“Right, I know that drill too,” Charlie mutters. I hug him, say I love him and he says it back.

“I’m glad we did this,” Billy says, squeezing my hand. “You’re important to me, Minho. I wish you luck.”

“Thanks, Billy.”

“Really.” He looks up at me, into my eyes. “Good luck. We’ll be here for you.”

I just put on a smile and thank him again.

##### chan pov

As a vampire, I must always take precautions when I show myself in public. I’m aware of the perils, but despite them — and perhaps sometimes because of them — travelling the world has always been one of my passions.

Here, in Shibuya City, there are so many things that inspire me, so many things to see, that sometimes all I can do is marvel. I’ve witnessed the development of the modern world — watched as technology was invented, skyscrapers were built and humans started bathing. It’s times like these I feel most grateful to be alive.

Standing still and gawking, unfortunately, isn’t an option here. I’m a drop in a river of bustling foot traffic that has no interest in indulging my touristy awe.

I can’t stay long anyway; Minho and Jisung are coming to visit tomorrow. However reluctant I am to admit it, I skittered away because I needed a break from my family. Haseong’s spirits have been low, Felix is never home and Changbin is stalking around the farm like a storm cloud.

I head back to the skytrain station, moving swiftly through the crowd. It’s a shock when I hear someone call out my name. I spin around and scan the sea of faces.

Matthew Kim emerges with his arms stretched toward the sky, a big smile on his face. “Hey, doc!”

“My Lord! Little Matthew Kim, is that you?”

“In the flesh.” He gives me a bearhug. “It’s Big Matthew now. Going for realism. Cool shades.”

I push them up my nose. “Thank you kindly. It’s been years, what have you and your coven been doing?”

“Globetrotting, sightseeing, causing trouble. I didn’t expect to see you here — last I heard you were in Gaborone.”

“Gaborone? No, we’re still northeast of Asunción.”

He flicks his nose with his thumb and steps closer, leaning down to speak in my ear. “You don’t have to play dumb. We’re in. We said yes.”

“You said yes to what, exactly?”

“Wait, you don’t know?”

“What… what don’t I know?”


	5. echoes

##### minho pov

Despite having a less-than-stellar experience in the past, the family were eager to relocate to Paraguay after their time in Forks had run out. I understood what they liked about the place, especially in contrast to Forks — sunny and secluded, there was no one to pretend for, nothing to hide from.

They managed to find a fairly spacious house, two storeys tall, backed against a hill, surrounded by farmland and forest. It came with a barn that Jeongin, Hyunjin and Seungmin remodelled into their own little manor, sequestered from the rest of the property.

Now, as we approach the farmhouse, Hyunjin appears on the balcony, leaps to the ground and bolts toward us.

“You’re here!” He grabs us both in one fell swoop and hugs us tightly. “I missed you so much!”

“You saw us a week ago,” Jisung laughs.

“Exactly! It’s been _so_ long. C’mon, we’ve been waiting for you!”

We follow him to the house, drop our bags inside and leave our shoes on the rack. Seungmin, Jeongin, Haseong, Changbin and Chan come into the room and dole out hugs. I squeeze Seungmin extra tight.

“Chan, you okay?” Jisung asks suddenly.

He’s tense, absent, I can tell from a glance. Plus, if Jisung has to ask what’s wrong, it means Chan is purposefully blocking him out.

“It’s fine,” he says, smiling a tight smile. “Just seasonal worries. Don’t fret over me.”

Then Felix comes in. He has the same look on his face. Now I know — something has happened.

“Bro!” He throws his arms around me. “Christ on a bike, it’s been forever and a day! I wanna show you the falls, it’s spectacular this time of year.”

“That’d be great,” I say.

He moves on to Jisung and gives him an aggressive hug-noogie combo. Chan’s eyes are heavy, watching the two of them. He looks down, turns and heads into the kitchen. Haseong watches him go.

I unzip my bag, take out the tattered copy of _Emma_ by Jane Austen and walk into the kitchen. Chan is sitting at the table, staring out the back doors. I take a seat next to him and set the book on the table.

He looks down at it, up at my face. “You finished it?”

“More or less.”

“Did you like it?”

“It didn’t really hold my attention. That’s probably my own fault. But thank you for lending it to me. It’s pretty cool Jane Austen signed it.”

“It is, isn’t it? She was actually quite nice. She asked me what I was doing in Chawton; I told her that adventure did not befall me in my own village so I had to seek it out abroad. I suppose the sentiment stuck with her…” He sighs and looks at me. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

I scoot my chair closer to his. “No, I wanna hear more.”

He smiles but it’s still heavy. He puts his arm around me, pulls me into his side — I slump down a little so I can put my head on his shoulder.

* * *

Chan tells me stories for a while, anecdotes from his three centuries on earth. The people he’s met, the places he’s been, the things he’s witnessed. Sometimes I have to cut in and ask if he’s being serious, and every time he looks back at me and replies with a genuine ‘why wouldn’t I be?’

The sun is bright outside, and for the first time in a long time, I’m somewhere I can go out and enjoy it. Chan seems excited when I suggest taking a walk. He plucks Haseong out of the other room and the three of us head out into the field behind the house.

Over the hill, cupped by the forest edge, is a pasture speckled with grazing cows.

“Holy shit,” I say, “when did you get cows?”

“A couple months back. Some of the people in town were hoping for milk, so we decided to give it a try.”

“You’re not gonna kill them for meat, are you?”

“Maybe,” Haseong says.

“Lord no,” Chan gasps.

Then I realize Haseong has a pail and a tiny stool in his hands. I know where this is going.

“I’m not gonna milk any cows.”

“Immediately says no to everything,” Haseong mutters to Chan, “he’s just like Jisung.”

_“I’m what?”_

So I try to milk a cow. I quickly decide it’s not for me. I stand by, pondering what brought me to this particular pocket in time and space, while Haseong takes my place.

“Is mother nature really so repulsive?” Chan asks.

“Udderly,” I say.

Instead I scritch the cow behind the ear, looking into her goopy eyes. She’s like a massive, black-white Kokoa who won’t randomly try to scratch my face off.

“Minho!” Felix walks over the hill with Seungmin at his side. “Fancy some sightseeing?”

I look back at Haseong and Chan. I can’t think of this as a goodbye, it’d just make me desperate to stay. I hug Haseong from behind and then move on to Chan.

“See you guys later,” I say.

I loosen my arms, but Chan keeps me tight against him.

“Promise,” he whispers.

Haseong doesn’t turn, but I hear his eyes narrow.

“I’ll just be at the waterfall,” I say over a hitch. “Felix said it’s beautiful this time of year.”

Chan lets me go, looks down and doesn’t look up again until I’m walking away.

Seungmin, Felix and I run eastward into the forest. We don’t speak for a while, till we’re far from the house, miles away from any humans or vampires.

“We’re not going now, are we?” Seungmin asks. “I haven’t prepared anything.”

“No,” Felix replies. “This is where we _supposedly_ decide to pay a visit to the Bermuda Triangle.”

“Why the Bermuda Triangle?” I ask.

“Why not? It’s weird enough that we’d want to see it with our own eyes, far enough to cover us time-wise, and no one’ll wanna tag along since it’s kinda stupid.”

“Hyunjin might wanna come,” Seungmin says. “What am I supposed to tell him?”

“Say the boat only fits three.”

“There’s a boat?”

“It’s our ride to Italy.”

“Why aren’t we just running?”

“Good lord, can we skip the call-and-response Q&A?”

“Felix, cut it out, we need answers. For example, what happened with Chan last night?”

Felix sighs and rubs his eyes. “Chan spoke to someone he shouldn’t have — he knows things now.”

“Who did he speak to? Why do they know what we’re doing?”

“Unfortunately, that’s redacted to the two of you.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Just trust me, don’t worry about it.”

Seungmin is about to hound him for an answer, but I cut him off. “So Chan knows, but the rest still don’t.”

“Changbin knows as well. They’ve both agreed not to tell anyone.”

“Really? Why would Chan do that?”

Felix is staring straight forward, one foot in front of the other. “At some point, he has to let us go. I told him that I wasn’t his to protect anymore, that he had to respect me, and he… accepted that.”

“Felix—”

“It’s fine. I… really love him. For caring. And Changbin… it’s complicated. He’s pissed the fuck off at me. Hopefully he can forgive me for all this bullshit.”

Seungmin and I exchange looks.

Felix clicks his jaw in and out. “The falls are coming up. Look in awe, boys.”

I hear the sound of water thundering beyond the trees. Ridges of moss-covered rock, clouds of fizzing mist — Iguazu Falls opens up like a beautiful, alien world, plunges into a canyon and culminates in a river running north. The three of us stop at the edge and look down into the water.

Felix’s voice is low and grave. “Y’all ever wondered what happened to those ships in Bermuda?”

I swallow. “Never once.”

“This is happening,” Seungmin murmurs. “Is this really happening?”

Felix palms both of our faces. “Hey, masks on. We’re having fun. Right?”

I try to smile but it feels wrong on my lips.

##### seungmin pov

I take a deep breath and push the barn doors open. Jeongin is lolling around on the bed, staring at his phone, and I hear Hyunjin scouring the hayloft above. I grab a bag from the armoire and stuff it with whatever my hands touch first.

“Seungmin!” Hyunjin jumps to the floor, holding out two VHS tapes. “It’s movie night — I was thinking Something’s Gotta Give, but Minho said he already saw it. What do you think, Father of the Bride or Parent Trap?”

“Ah the illusion of choice,” Jeongin sighs from the bed.

“Um,” I say, “I don’t know if tonight’s gonna be a good night to watch a movie.”

“But it’s been eight months since I got to choose!” Hyunjin hugs the VHSes to his chest. “This always happens to Nancy and me.”

Jeongin sits up, narrowing his eyes at me. “You going somewhere?”

“Oh yeah. Minho, Felix and I are going to the Bermuda Triangle.”

“Ooh, sounds fun,” says Hyunjin. “Can I come?”

“Sorry, cookie, I think the boat’s gonna be pretty tight.”

“You already have a boat?”

“Yeah, a rowboat or canoe or something. Felix said it’s docked somewhere on the north coast, we’re heading up there now.”

“Why are you doing this?” Jeongin asks. “The Triangle is just a magnetically unpredictable range of ocean mythologized by conspiracy theories.”

“Er, of course it is. I mean… I dunno, Minho is having a hard time right now, and Felix is fighting with Changbin. I guess I just want to make sure they both make it back intact.”

“Might be a good idea,” says Hyunjin. “Emotional Minho and emotional Felix aren’t a good mix.”

“We can all watch a movie once you guys are back,” Jeongin says. Hyunjin claps his hands.

“Yeah… maybe.” I clear my throat, standing from a crouch. “I guess we’ll be heading out soon.”

Jeongin comes over to peck me on the lips. “See you, sweetie. Remember your flare gun and be careful of the gulf stream—”

I grab his face and kiss him again. I let myself think back to the night sky in Newcastle Upon Tyne, the first time feeling his hands in my hair, kissing him as if it was my last chance. This time it might be.

I pull away — he’s blinking, disoriented. I get up on my tiptoes to kiss Hyunjin. He melts into me like he always does. I pull them both into a hug and murmur an I love you.

I leave the barn without looking back.

##### minho pov

Jisung is kneeling in the field, dirty and sleeveless with his hair tied back into a little ponytail. I watch him for a while. Seeing him here makes me wonder if he would like living somewhere more rural, more sunny. I imagine giving him a taste of his own medicine — surprising him with a farmhouse, an oasis surrounded by acres of room for his flowers to grow.

I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I shouldn’t be planning for the future.

I take a deep breath.

“Jisungie!” I race up and wrap my arms around him from behind. “Guess what Felix, Seungmin and I are gonna do!”

He laughs and keeps troweling at the dirt. “Oh no, what is it?”

“We’re gonna sail out to the Bermuda Triangle to see the shipwrecks.”

“Oh? You seem very… excited about it. Don’t you get nervous on boats?”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun. You, er, you can come with us if you want.”

“No, thank you, love. I’m more than fine here.”

I don’t know what to say next. I feel like he can hear me breathing too loudly. “Yeah, okay. We’ll be back soon, you know, whenever, I don’t know exactly. I’ll… miss you, Jisungie.”

“‘Course, my love, have fun.” He smiles but doesn’t look up. I wait for a second. Kiss his shoulder and the nape of his neck. Stand up. Walk away. Turn to look back at him. Keep walking. Oh my god. Did I just say goodbye?

##### changbin pov

I’m sitting in the nook between the couch and the wall. Stewing. There’s no place to go where my family will stay out of my way. Everybody’s pissing me off. They all know too much, too little, only as much as Felix has allowed, like he’s some kind of zealot leading an army into war. It’s only a damn war because that’s what he’s made it.

Minho barges into the house, head in his hands, and passes without noticing me. He rifles through his bag, zips it up and throws it over his shoulder.

I get up off the floor. His face falls into a smiling mask as he sees me.

“Hey, Bin, did Felix tell you? We’re going—”

“Minho, don’t lie to me. Don’t lie like Felix is. You can still decide not to go, it’s not too late — you… you can stay with us.”

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about. We won’t be gone long.”

He’s conflicted. He’s hurting. I feel the emotion emanate from him. His hand is to his neck, absently toying with the fang-shaped scars. Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’ve known him for sixteen years. It’s hard to believe he would throw all those years away.

“You’re gonna make me do this?” I say.

“Do what?”

I cross the room and wrap my arms around him. He stalls for a moment, then drops his bag and hugs me back.

“Don’t go,” I whisper.

He sniffles, trying to stifle it. “It’s not too bad. It might take a while, but… it’s not a death sentence. I have to do this. Tell the family the same if we…” His teeth grit together. “And please… tell Jisung I’m sorry.”

Everything I have to say is jumbled behind locked lips.

Minho breaks away as he realizes Felix is watching from the top of the staircase. Felix’s face is impassive but I feel the emotion rolling off him. The room is an echo chamber, anxiety, sorrow, frustration, all ricocheting among us.

Minho grabs his bag and leaves the room, leaves us alone. Felix walks the rest of the stairs, about to follow him, but I take his arm. He waits for me to speak but the words won’t come.

“Well?” he says.

My hand falls down his arm. “Take care of yourself.”

“That’s it?”

“The hell do you want me to say? Go away, stay here, fuck off, I’ll be waiting for you?”

“Well… _will_ you be waiting for me?”

I roll my eyes. “Oh fuck off.”

But I zip up his jacket and shove him toward the door.

“Come back. Please. For me.” I’ll kill him twice over if he doesn’t.


	6. miles away

##### minho pov

Seungmin and I stare up at the boat bobbing in the water. It has a small body but a tall mast, sail juddering in the wind. The sun is going down, the waves crashing onto the beach are angry and crested by white.

“Good sailing weather,” I mutter.

“I’m gonna lose my shit if my phone gets wet.” Seungmin takes it out of his back pocket. “Never mind, it’s dead anyway.”

“Is it just me or does the boat look kinda flimsy?”

“You might be right. Lucky Haseong and Chan gave us a crash course in pirate-ing, right?”

We look at each other.

“You’ve forgotten everything, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.”

I look over my shoulder. Felix and his ‘source’ are whispering back and forth on the far side of the beach. He told us she’s a vampire shipwright, her name is Kim Chanmi — and nothing else. I guess she’s another item on his list of redacted information.

Felix gives her a hardy handshake and walks toward us. “It’s a go, let’s get this fish in the water.”

We file onto the dock, untie the boat and climb in. The wind pushes us out into the surging water.

“Felix, why’d you rent a boat for this?” I ask.

“Efficiency, Min. Hoofing our way up the Americas and swimming from Newfoundland to Ireland is the fool’s route to Italy. This way we only have sixteen-hundred miles to cover, and we won’t look like prunes once we make it to The Boot.”

“And this thing” — Seungmin flicks his hands — “will get us across the Atlantic?”

“Swiftly, you pessimists. Ms. Kim’s handiwork is of the highest caliber. This beaut won’t be broken by a couple puny waves.”

“But will it capsize?”

“All vessels capsize, _Seungmin,_ it’s a matter of _onboard_ competence.”

“You’re paying for my phone when we go under.”

With the night getting darker, the wind picking up, the boat is already rocking against the waves. I curl up on the floor, hugging my bag in my arms. It still smells like home — Kokoa tried to climb in before we’d left for Charlie’s house.

Felix looks me up and down, swings off his backpack and unzips it. He pulls out a rolled-up sheet of paper and gives it to me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a blueprint. Thought you might wanna look at it.”

I tease off the hairband holding it together. It’s drawn by hand, a distantly familiar vampire scent on the thick paper. It lays out a map of Volterra on one side with an enlarged diagram of the Volturi’s palazzo on the other. The building facing the street, the entrance, is the same as its neighbours, but it leads deep into the city block, ends in a large, circular room captioned ‘throne room.’

Seungmin takes the seat behind me, looking at it over my shoulder. “Where’d you get this? Nobody has these blueprints, they’re banned.”

Felix opens his mouth.

“Never mind, redacted, I get it.”

“This is where we’ll meet them, the… throne room.” I bite my lip, trying to picture it. “Jisung and I practiced what to say… I dunno what else there is to plan for.” The boat lurches into the air — I get spritzed with salty water. “I mean, other than a sixteen-hundred mile swim.”

“It’s under control.” The sail jerks and smacks into Felix’s nose. _“Ow fuck me!”_

“Why didn’t you say we were going somewhere farther?” Seungmin slides onto the floor with me, legs folded up to his chest. “Like the Great Wall or the Pyramids? Then we could’ve run to the Canadian coast and ferried it from there.”

Felix is retying the sail to a cleat on the side of the boat. “The longer we’re gone — or supposed to be — the more suspicious it is.” He plops down between us, legs straight in front of him. “And I don’t think we can afford to be any more suspicious than we already were.”

I pick at a frayed hole in my knee. “Jisung was oblivious. He… didn’t even look up.”

“Mine are definitely suspicious,” says Seungmin. “The whole thing, it was too close to a goodbye, a real goodbye. They must have noticed.”

“Changbin’s probably burned a hole in the wall with his eyes by now.” Felix smiles a little. “The way he hates me sometimes… god, I love it.”

“How do you think Chan’s dealing?” I ask.

“Chan’s one of the strongest people I know. He’ll forgive us. ‘Sides, he has Haseong to keep him steady.”

Seungmin sighs. “Haseong hasn’t been all that steady lately. He might be suspicious of us too. I mean, he’s always suspicious of everything, but.”

“Do you think it’ll hurt him?” I ask. “Do you think he thinks that we don’t trust him? Does he know that we know that he was doing everything he can to protect us? Am I even making sense right now?”

“Not entirely,” says Felix. “I could actually use one of his lectures right now. ‘Goddamnit, Felix, think rationally!’”

Seungmin sighs, rubbing his forehead. “Look, I know we’re keeping everything scary unsaid, but… I don’t want that to be the last time I see them. I fucking lied to them. I’m not ready to die. I want to go home after this.”

Felix puts his arm around Seungmin’s shoulders. “Then that’s what we shall do.”

I clutch my bag. This must be the farthest I’ve been from Jisung in years. I look down at my hands, my ring, thinking about our wedding day, his gentle eyes as I said my vows. Early mornings listening to the birds outside the window, drawing on his chest with my fingertips. His voice, his thoughts, talking and talking, blind to the days and nights passing us by.

It all builds and squeezes at the back of my throat.

“Minho, you’re crying,” Seungmin says.

I hide my face in my knees. “I c-can’t help it.”

Felix puts his arm around me too. “C’mere, crybaby. Didn’t you hear me? We’re going home. Remember that.”

##### jisung pov

Sometimes I think I would be lucky to be a flower.

Flowers are sensitive and kind, delicate and modest — everything I love about being human without the strife and complexities. Every bud and bloom is a new life, every whither and wilt a death. In some ways, these plants are more human than I am.

Soon I’ve sowed, watered and fed all the seeds I have. I suppose they’ll have to wait for the sun — nightfall slipped my attention and the sky is suddenly dark. I gather my tools and head toward the glowing house beyond the field.

I’m disappointed when I remember Minho won’t be there. How long will a Bermuda Triangle trip take? They have a lot of land to cover before they even make it to the right coast — and then what will they do? Float around and look at the shipwrecks — that is, if the ocean doesn’t sink their asses first?

I leave my stuff in the shed and go inside. Changbin is slumped on the couch, staring at a _Friends_ rerun. His mind is silent. Entirely silent. I still have no idea how they keep me out like that. Every time I try to find out, they just — well, I don’t know what they do.

At first I ignore him, but then he ignores me too and I get curious.

“Whatcha doing?” I lean over the back of the couch, try to get a glimpse of his expression. Stone-faced.

“Nothing important.” He turns back to give me a once-over. “I’m sorry, do you need help searching?”

“For what?”

“Your sleeves?”

I fake-laugh and cross my arms. “Minho said I looked good.”

“When was that?”

“You weren’t there.”

He narrows his eyes and turns back to the TV.

“Have you given this Bermuda thing any thought?” I ask. “Something feels off to me. Minho gets nervous on the water.”

“Are you saying Seungmin and Felix kidnapped him?”

“No, I’m just saying it’s… weird.”

His lips are a line.

“Maybe they’re, like, out doing something reckless? Buying something expensive?” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Minho’s anxiety has been up and down lately. I think he misses his mom, but it… it’s more too. Like, to do with the Volturi. I hate that he has to worry about shit like that.”

“Am I really the person you wanna talk to about this?”

“Right, I forgot, your heart’s made of stone.”

He grunts and stares at the screen. I turn to the staircase.

_Jisung, you should call him._

I turn back. Changbin is looking up at me, expression grave. I can hear his thoughts but I can’t dive any deeper, he’s still keeping it hidden away.

“What?”

 _Give Minho a call. See where he’s at. Think about it._ But it’s more than a suggestion.

I nod and continue up the stairs. Changbin’s face stays with me. After I shower and change, I sit on the balcony and dial Minho’s cell.

It rings out. I bite my lip, fighting the panic rising in my chest. Calm down, I tell myself, he never answers his phone anyway.

I call him again, wishing my iPhone had a cord I could fidget with.

This time he picks up. “Jisungie?!” He’s shouting over a deafening background noise, loud crashes and static like he’s in the middle of a hurricane.

I cover one ear and get up to pace the balcony. “Minho? Where are you?”

“We’re” — the line fuzzes — “boat! The signal’s really bad, I don’t know how” — there’s a thump and a shriek — “fuck, my phone!”

I hear Haseong walk up behind me and linger in the doorway. I ignore him, trying to speak calmly into the receiver. I should have gone with those three. Even with Seungmin there, Felix and Minho always manage to get into the stupidest situations.

“My love, come back if it’s not safe.”

“What?!”

“Come back if it’s not safe!”

“No, I’m having fun! Don’t worry about me, honestly, I’m— no, Seungmin, the sail’s rip—”

The call disconnects. I stare at the screen. I really, really want to call him again.

“Leave it,” Haseong tells me. I forgot he was there. “It’s no use.”

I swallow. “I’m just worried, it’s nothing.”

“They’re not in Bermuda, they’re going northeast.”

Haseong shows me his phone. It’s a map of the Atlantic ocean. The red dot is miles off the east coast.

I gawk. “They — w-what — how did — but — are you—?”

“I planted a tracker in the sole of Seungmin’s shoe.”

“Christ, you’re _deranged!_ What the hell are they doing? Why are they in the Atlantic?”

“That’s what I don’t know. But someone in the family does. This has been going on for a while, Jisung, I’ve kept my thumb on the pulse but Felix is good at keeping secrets.”

“Fucking Felix.” I feel like throttling him already. “What do we do now?”

“Now we have a family assembly. Someone’ll give the game away.” There’s a glint in his eye, like he’s half-enjoying this. “I’ll make sure of it.”


	7. truth

##### minho pov

Sailing the Atlantic is like fist fighting the ocean with bare hands. The waves keep hitting us, gushing into the boat, threatening to sink it, and the wind is so strong that the sail starts to tear. Felix, Seungmin and I are running around, troubleshooting, drenched from head to toe. At least there’s a compartment that keeps our stuff dry, though it might be too late for my phone.

Jisung’s call made all the difference. His voice grounded me even when there was no ground to be seen. I hear him in my head — _you’re brave, Minho, you always have been_ — as I frantically scoop pailfuls of water over the edge of the boat.

Felix climbs to the tip of the mast, scanning the horizon. I’m about to tell him to get down before god decides to do it for him, but then he screams “Land ho!”

“Thank Christ!” Seungmin kicks the water pooled at his feet.

I clamber to the front of the boat and squint into the distance. We’re approaching a beach scattered with palm trees glistening in the rising sun. I breathe a sigh of relief.

And then a wave hits us. The water flings me backward onto the floor. The boat is lopsided, half-sunk already. I scramble to the front, open the luggage compartment and yank our bags out.

“We’re going down!” Seungmin yells. “Abandon ship!”

“Oh fuck! Help!” Felix is dangling from the mast, trapped by the back of his jacket. It cracks under his weight, drops him into Seungmin’s arms, and the sail falls over my head. Once I pull it off, the boat’s nose is floating into the air as the back half sinks below. I grab a cleat with one hand so I won’t go sliding into the water.

“I _told_ you it would sink, I _knew_ it!” Seungmin hurls Felix out of his arms, dives in after him with a splash.

Felix breaches the water, gasping. “I never said it wouldn’t!” He’s paddling in circles. “Minho, where are you?!”

“The hell do I do now?!” I’m clutching our luggage for dear life, balanced on the tip of the completely vertical, completely fucked boat as it sinks deeper and deeper.

“Don’t let my shit get wet!” Seungmin shrieks.

Felix shoves his face. “Toss it, Minho, trust me!”

I toss the backpacks into Felix’s hands. He holds them high over his head, away from the rolling waves. The boat sucks into the water and disappears under my feet; I struggle to keep my face above water.

“There goes my security deposit,” Felix mutters.

##### jeongin pov

The way Seungmin left was not normal. Maybe I’m foolish for thinking it — how could a goodbye kiss and an I love you be suspicious? This isn’t the first time Seungmin has gambolled off to some natural oddity with our brothers — what makes it stand out this time?

He’s been acting differently, not in drastic ways, just little tells. He’d get distracted, fidgety, have trouble paying attention. Sometimes Felix would run off into the forest and Seungmin would follow just moments after.

Hyunjin and I are carting buckets of well water back to the house. The sun has lit the sky a hazy violet but barely touched the tops of the trees.

“I don’t want to talk about Seungmin behind his back,” I start.

Hyunjin lets out a breath. “Thank God.”

“Huh?”

“I was hoping you’d bring it up first.”

“So you got a… feeling, earlier? Like something was off?”

“Something’s been off for weeks, but I’m… trying not to worry. Seungmin will talk to us when he’s ready.”

I laugh quietly. “This is a lot. Changbin and Felix are fighting, Haseong’s having a mid-life crisis, Chan’s malfunctioning, and now Seungmin’s hiding something.”

“Not to mention the Hyunjin-suppression running rampant among the family.”

“Hyunjin, it’s been decades, we’re tired of Nancy Myers movies.”

“Now that’s just blatant bias, I think there’s a— Jisung?”

Jisung is scuttling toward us from across the field. His hair is wet and flat and his arms are straight at his sides.

“Family assembly — now.” He pivots back toward the house.

Hyunjin and I look at each other. He grabs my hand and we tail Jisung back to the house.

Jisung has taken a seat in the living room, Changbin is leaning against the wall. Haseong and Chan come in the back door — Chan’s eyes are big and vulnerable. I’ve known him for 140 years and I’ve only seen him this obviously upset a handful of times.

“What’s going on?” Changbin says, already annoyed.

Haseong stands in the middle of the room, holding his phone out for everyone to see. “Felix, Minho and Seungmin are not going where they said they were. They’ve crossed the Atlantic and are now nearing the coast of Guinea.”

“You’re tracking our boyfriend?” I exclaim, though I know it isn’t above him. “What the hell are they doing out in the ocean?”

“I don’t know.” Haseong’s eyes rove over us. “But one of you do.”

“Haseong, quit playing detective.” Jisung is kneading a headache. “We need to focus, why would they be in West Africa?”

“Maybe they just decided to go someplace other than the Triangle?” Hyunjin says dubiously. “Mount Kilimanjaro? The national museum?”

“That would make it a coincidence,” Haseong says, “and I highly doubt that. Minho and Felix have been acting strangely for weeks, and now they take a surprise trip to Bermuda, only to make a double-surprise detour across an ocean? Unlikely.”

“Seungmin’s been acting weird too,” I say.

“When did it start?”

“A few weeks ago? Before we visited Forks, for sure.”

Haseong considers that and then abruptly turns to Changbin. “Bin, what have you and Felix been fighting about?”

Changbin has been glaring at Chan — now his eyes flit to Haseong, and his upper lip curls back. “That’s our business, why would I tell any of you?”

“Summarize it,” Jisung says tightly. “Forget your pride for two seconds, nobody cares about your love life.”

“Felix lied to me, okay? He told me he wouldn’t do something and then he went ahead and did it first chance he got.”

“What did Felix do?”

“I won’t say.”

“Changbin, let me see, I swear I’ll—”

“Jisung, stay out of my fucking head. What’s happening with me and Felix is unrelated.”

“Oh is it?” Chan suddenly speaks up. He’s hovering over the couch, staring at Changbin. Changbin stares back, incredulous and… frightened.

“Chan, what is it?” Haseong asks. “What do you know?”

Chan wraps his arms around himself. “I know as much as you do.”

“You’re lying,” Jisung says. “I can’t read your thoughts — you have something to hide.”

“Chan?” Hyunjin murmurs, a wounded pup.

“He’s not lying,” Changbin says quickly, “I feel his honesty.”

“You’re lying too,” I say. “You’re covering for Chan — he knows what Felix did.”

“And Changbin knows something about Minho,” Jisung growls. “That’s why you told me to call him — something is wrong.”

Haseong crosses the room and cups Chan’s face. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to hide it anymore.”

“Chan, keep quiet,” Changbin warns.

“Shut it,” Jisung hisses.

“I don’t want to lie.” Chan grips Haseong’s wrists.

“You don’t have to,” I say.

_“Don’t say a word!”_

Chan yells it like he’s gasping for breath. “They-they’re in Italy!”

“Chan!” Changbin shouts.

“I can’t keep it in!” Chan shouts back. “They’re going to confess to the Volturi.”

Hyunjin clutches my forearm. I can’t make myself breathe or speak or move. Seungmin is going to the Volturi. Minho is going to confess. And Felix — Fei Ngai’s son — is going to bargain for forgiveness from a man who will not give it to them.

Jisung is hyperventilating. Changbin shifts to the floor, knees drawn to his chest.

“Oh my god.” Haseong’s voice is barely there. “No no no no.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Chan murmurs, pulling him into his arms.

Jisung flits to his feet and vanishes up the staircase.

Changbin speaks first. “Jisung, what are you—?”

He flies down the stairs again and grabs the doorknob, but Haseong slams it shut.

 _“Back off!”_ Jisung snarls.

“Think _rationally,”_ Haseong snarls back. “We’re not gonna do anything that could negatively affect the situation.”

“What the fuck am I _supposed_ to do? Wait around to see if they come back or not? How could I stay away?”

Hyunjin and I look at each other for a split second. We decide.

“We’re going too,” I say. “Don’t try to stop us.”

Haseong looks up at the ceiling, squeezing his eyes shut. He’s teary when he looks at us. “They’re my family. I want them safe as much as you. But I don’t want to barge in and fuck up everything Felix has likely planned.”

“It can’t hurt,” Chan murmurs. “The rest of you can witness without us — don’t ask why. Changbin?”

His jaw is flexing as he pauses, thinking through it. He bows his head in concession. “Fine. I mean, fuck it, they’re going with or without us.”

“We have to trust that they’ll be safe from Aro.”

“Chan, what does that mean?” Jisung says. “What else do you two know?”

Changbin grunts and picks himself up off the floor. “Don’t ask unless you feel like getting your head torn off.” His knuckles give a loud crack as he stretches them behind his back. “Well? Are we going or not?”

##### felix pov

It blindsided me, that Changbin would try to intervene from a distance. Minho’s phone rang a split second after I foresaw it and I couldn’t stop him from answering. I made him put it in airplane mode after that. Of course I haven’t done the same with my phone.

Now — dashing from Mauritania to Morocco — a part of me worries I’ve been too lenient, that it was too big a risk to let Minho and Seungmin say their goodbyes. I can only plan so far and wide, I don’t want anything to sneak up on us. I’ve practically hijacked this whole operation. At least if something goes wrong and we’re killed for it, it’ll be my fault alone.

The weight of responsibility isn’t lost on me, but it’s overshadowed by something bigger. My mother has been lingering over my shoulder for months.

Just like when she was alive, I have mixed feelings about it. A part of me feels watched, scrutinized. The other is just grateful to feel her again. Sometimes I smile for no reason, sensing a phantom eye-roll or glare of disapproval. _Can’t do much about that now, can ya?_ I’d think, and the ghost would tweak my ear with her gnarled fingernails.

Minho, Seungmin and I approach Volterra, its alabaster buildings glowing in the midday sun. We climb over a northern wall and land in a small alley. I distribute sunglasses, masks and visors to keep our skin from giving us away. It’s just a Wednesday in the city, streets bustling with humans.

The four of us meld into the foot traffic and head for the Volturi’s palazzo. Fei keeps her hand on my shoulder, protective, pushing me forward every step.


	8. arrival

##### minho pov

I’ve been thinking about this for years, imagining how it’d go down. I thought I’d be afraid, I thought I’d second guess myself, that I’d want to walk away. However brave Jisung thinks I am, the Volturi are ancient and strong beyond belief. I don’t think there’s enough room in my body for that kind of fear.

One thing I didn’t think I’d feel, though, is anger. A kind of petulance. As I see the building that conceals the Volturi’s lair, I want to kick it. Just kick it. Knock over a flower pot or something. It isn’t smart to go in feeling like this, it would only hurt our case. But I don’t know how to manufacture respect for something I only see with disgust and hatred.

Shouldn’t have thought that either.

Felix, Seungmin and I stop in front of the building, staring up at it. We exchange glances.

“For the record,” says Seungmin, “it’s been kinda fun. Maybe we can go to see the Triangle for real after this.”

“I’m never getting in a boat again,” I say.

“The boat was a total success,” says Felix. “But you’re right. The journey wasn’t as miserable as I thought it would be.” He slings his arms over our shoulders. “You two are fuckin’ extraordinary, you know that?”

Abruptly the tall doors in front of us split open, and two guards in long black cloaks look down at us.

“State your business,” one says.

I take a step forward. “We’re here to see the Volturi.” 

“For what reason?”

“To report a breach of the law.”

They move robotically to the sides, staying out of the glare of the sun. We step inside and take off our disguises. It’s just a hallway, high regal ceilings but otherwise normal. One of the guards opens a door and disappears down a dark flight of stairs. The other waits for us to go ahead, and then walks on our heels like we’re a group of preschoolers.

The staircase is unlit and claustrophobic. It descends for what feels like miles, and then shifts into another hallway. And then a staircase up. I just stare at the guard’s back and mock his stupid underground labyrinth in my head.

The guards go ahead and crank a hulking lever on a wide, medieval-looking door. Felix has fallen to the back of the pack, gravitating farther away from us. His hand is in his pocket, I can hear his thumb tapping against the screen of his phone.

I give him a look. He winks as he pulls his hand out of his pocket.

The guards heave the door open, and a bright, lavish corridor appears in front of us. Blue and white checkered tiles on the floor, the busts of past and present Volturi members carved into the creamy walls. The ceiling is a high arch, crystal chandeliers glittering above our heads.

The hall ends in a massive, circular room with guards to all sides. The ceiling is made entirely of stained glass, each pane telling the creation story in pictographs. It fills the space with muted colours, just enough sun that every vampire in the room is shining specks of silver.

On a raised portion of the floor sits a long wooden desk. Marcus is on the left, Caius on the right, and Aro is in the middle, facing us. He looks up from his book and his old burgundy eyes focus on mine. He’s only confused for a second, and then his lips split in a wide smile, folding creases into his papery white skin.

“What is this?” he wonders. “Lee Felix and Kim Seungmin, I’ve not seen your faces for over a decade.”

“Two,” says Seungmin.

“Well. Always such a pleasure. I suppose I should be thanking you. You’ve come all this way so that my colleagues and I would not have to make the strenuous journey to your charming locale. Wherever are you staying these days?”

“South America.” Felix leaves it at that. “I’m afraid we’re not here for hellos.”

“Oh is that so? I must confess I am curious.” His eyes switch to me. “What is your name, stranger?”

“My name is Lee Minho. I’m the newest member of their coven.”

He seems rapt by that. “Then congratulations are in order. When were you turned?”

“2005.”

“How enlivening! A newborn added to your ranks, hm? I was so sure your coven had finished growing. Minho, have you developed a gift by any chance?”

I’m hesitant to answer. “Um. Yes. I can make electricity.”

He’s lost in thought for a moment, smile dreamy and twisted. “Psychic electric shock. I knew a vampire like you in the 1600s. Very powerful.” His eyes snap back to me. He gently closes the book in front of him and stands, fingers splayed on the table. “Show us. If you would indulge me so.”

The room shifts. The guard are watching with sharp, careful eyes. Marcus looks me up and down, uninterested, and Caius squints at me with a sneer.

I hold my hand up. A flash of hot electricity blasts from my fingertips, stronger than I mean it to. Anger tends to make it flare up. I try to play it cool though I flinched a bit.

“Intriguing,” Aro says. “Have you tried it on a human yet?”

“No, not once.”

“Hm. Of course. You _are_ Dr. Bang and Mr. Bak’s newest charge.” He sits back down, opens his book. “I pray for your improvement.”

I swallow, take a step forward. “There are other matters to discuss.”

“Are there?”

“I’m here to confess to something I’ve done.”

He’s suddenly interested again. “Go on.”

“I’ve broken a rule, in a way. I’m still in contact with humans from my past life. That technically breaks your laws.”

“You’ve exposed us?” His voice is not accusatory or outraged, purely entertained.

“No, I haven’t. I didn’t tell them what I am, just that I’m different. I’ve never said the word, used my abilities or shown myself in the sun—”

“But you are in contact with them,” he interrupts. “You were turned fifteen years ago — do you think your immortality has escaped their notice? What about your eyes?”

“I’m sure they’ve noticed, but I don’t think that’s an issue.”

Marcus’s croaking laugh echoes in the quiet room. Aro joins in, lightly, his lips a condescending simper.

“You don’t _think_ it’s an issue?”

“I made it clear that they couldn’t ask questions, it was a prerequisite. They’ve seen my eyes, but all they know is that they’re gold, not what makes them that way. Jisung — Han Jisung — has read their minds, he says they have no clue, they haven’t thought the word ‘vampire’ even once.”

“But is that _significant?”_ Aro’s voice rises above the usual pillowy murmur. The guards bordering the room are suddenly witnesses in my trial. “What if you were to kill a human — or, in your case, a boar, for example — and then drain its life in their presence? Would you presume that, though they are not allowed to ask questions, they don’t have suspicions?” 

“I-I guess not, but I would never—”

“Then may I raise the problem of containment as a followup? Picture this: Mr. Lee’s human cohorts decide to take a photograph all together, they show _one_ person — just one — and that person steals the information and sells it to the media.”

“The humans wouldn’t do that,” Seungmin cuts in, “they’ve promised to keep it a secret—”

“What weight does the promise of a _human_ carry? You would be a fool to trust such capricious, simpleminded creatures.”

“So they’re smart enough to figure out I’m a vampire,” I say, “but at the same time stupid enough to give it away?”

Aro’s eyes blaze. “Do you understand, Mr. Lee, what we do to those who expose our secret?”

I bite my tongue, squaring my shoulders. “Yes.”

“Then you’re aware that all must abide by the law. A breach is a betrayal and a threat, and we have sworn—”

A sound from behind me. Everybody turns to see the door at the end of the hall opening.

Jisung steps into the light of the chandelier.

_“Minho!”_


	9. condemned

##### jisung pov

The cloaked guards open their doors and let us in. Haseong is in the lead, his thoughts single-minded and methodical. Hyunjin and Jeongin are holding hands, clinging to each other. Chan and Changbin left us before we entered the city.

I’m shaking. I can’t tell if it’s because I’m terrified or angry or an explosive mix of both. I’ve been privileged, hiding away in our little cabin where the outside world didn’t exist. Now, facing the world, facing our fears — like a coward, all I want to do is go home.

The guards lead us through the underground passages. I hear voices from all around, faint and echoed. I don’t know if they’re internal or spoken aloud. The tunnel comes to an end and the guards lever a door open. 

Haseong hangs back and holds my arm. _Don’t do anything reckless._

The door slides open to a lavish hallway. I see the throne room.

Our eyes meet.

Oh my God. He’s alive.

_“Minho!”_

I jerk out of Haseong’s grip. Within a second I’m in Minho’s arms, my breath harsh and heavy, tears spilling down my cheeks. He holds me tight, telling me to breathe.

“H-how could you do this,” I stutter, “how c-could you leave me behind?”

“I didn’t want you involved, I wanted to fix this without putting you in danger—”

Felix interrupts. “Minho, pay attention.”

Aro is watching us with amusement. “It’s quite all right. Precocious Han Jisung has found his mate, I see.” His eyes move to Haseong’s. “Mr. Bak. I can’t help but notice, you’re alone with your wards. Wherever has your partner gone — and your empath, for that matter?”

“They’re unable to make it but they send their regards. I’m don’t know what’s been discussed so far, but my _wards_ came here with pure intentions, to confess their wrongdoings and negotiate a fair punishment. I’m sure you will grant them as much.”

“Certainly.” He gets up from his seat to pace the table, running his fingers along the wood. “You see, your newest member revealed some intriguing information. I assume you’ve been made aware of the situation.”

“I have.”

Aro simpers, gives Haseong a disapproving wag of his finger. “This is a serious crime. Right now there are humans walking free, unregulated, with our secret on their tongues.”

“They won’t say a _word.”_ I speak directly to Aro. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind.”

“Unfortunately, we cannot verify that. You can only read the present. I can only see what’s passed. Felix can only see what’s premeditated. Vampires, like humans, are fallible, which is why we can never be too safe, and we can never let any loose ends dangle unattended.”

“You’ve seen my gift,” Minho says. “I’m willing to serve the Volturi if you can guarantee our lives.”

Aro’s head tilts. “There’s a fine line between an offer and a bribe, Mr. Lee.”

“It’s a proposal. We can negotiate a sentence, I can pay off my… crimes.”

“I’ve been alive over a millennium and no one has ever suggested a deal.”

“Then think of me as a pilot project.”

Aro’s tongue slides across his teeth like he’s just caught the scent of fresh blood.

“I have to admit…” He walks the length of the table, steps out with his fingers intertwined. “I’m persistently humbled and awed by the talent Mr. Bak and Dr. Bang seemed to attract. Mind reading, strength, precognition, empathy — and now psychic electric shock! How wondrous, wouldn’t you agree?

“But — as we’ve learned before with the… intrepid nomad Ngai Fei, who possessed an understated yet powerful gift of persuasion — those who lay claim to power tend to be predisposed to challenging the systems that keep them in check. And so much unadulterated power in a single coven, uncontrolled… perhaps we’ve been fools all along, for letting it go on.”

“Aro, what are you saying?” Haseong speaks up.

“I’m saying that, perhaps, the Volturi need to… update our regulations to better reflect the times. There are so many individuals and covens to keep track of nowadays — we’re overwhelmed! Meanwhile, young and gifted vampires gallivant around the world, ignoring laws and causing trouble. Even ancient covens, ones we’ve been keeping a weather eye on, break our rules. Knowingly. Irresponsibly.” His eyes narrow into slits. “I won’t let it go uncorrected.”

“Uncorrected?” Minho spits. “How can you be sure I’m guilty? You haven’t even touched me — you haven’t read my mind!”

“Is that necessary?”

“Aro, your willingness to negate your own protocol is being made very clear,” Haseong says.

“Watch what you say, Mr. Bak.” He flutters his hands dismissively. “If you so insist.”

He steps delicately down from the platform. Minho moves in front of me, protective. Aro reaches for his hand and Minho gives it to him.

His whited eyes wander and his mouth spreads in a smile. The room is quiet, hanging on a thread.

A new voice enters my mind. _I’m gonna make you proud._ Felix?

Aro unfreezes with a chuckle. His eyes wander over Minho’s face, down to his hand. Aro runs his thumb over his wedding ring and Minho pulls his hand away.

“As I suspected.” He shakes his head sadly. “You put on quite a show. I am at a loss of what to do, I sincerely hate to burn bridges. I’ve committed my life to doing what is right and just, not for myself, but for the betterment of all vampires, covens and the Volturi. I’ve seen the truth.

“You, Lee Minho,” he says brightly, “are sentenced to death.”


	10. red sun

##### minho pov

My hands surge with electricity. I taste venom pooling in my mouth.

I’m about to die. 

The guards are moving toward me already. If I have to give up my life, I won’t make it easy. I’m going to fight. I’m going to claw and struggle and do as much damage as I can.

I’m going to kill Aro before he can kill me.

And then Jisung’s voice comes from behind me. 

“Felix…”

The crash is deafening. Shards of stained glass rain down around us, shatter against the floor. Vampires and werewolves pour into the room, descending from above.

Chan. Changbin. The Denali coven. The Quileute werewolf pack. The Pointe-Noire coven, the Chongqing coven, a dozen others. The army attack the Volturi guard, bodies fall fast and hard all around me. At once I understand what Felix has been planning all along.

He’s carrying on his mother’s legacy. He’s finishing it.

Aro is disoriented, frantic, watching his palace fall. Our eyes meet. 

He thrusts a finger at me and shouts _“Get him!”_

A guard rushes me, fangs drawn. Hot electricity burns along my skin; I grab him by the shoulders and shock him till he falls to his knees, convulsing, eyes rolled back into his skull.

Someone rams into me from the side, knocks me to the floor. I scramble to electrocute the guard on top of me but it doesn’t affect him — _why isn’t it enough?_ He growls through gritted teeth as the electricity courses through him. His hands hook under my jaw, pulling my skin tight.

“Jisung!” I cry.

It’s half a second before the guard vanishes and the pressure on my neck is gone. I crane back to see Jisung rip the guard’s throat out with his teeth. He lets the body fall to the floor and runs back to me, reaching for my hand.

“Get up, get up!”

“Where’s Aro?”

Jisung just points. A white speckled wolf, the biggest in the pack, has Aro’s neck between her massive fangs. She prowls toward us and spits him out at our feet. 

I grab him by his stringy hair and let the electricity surge through me.

##### changbin pov

I’ve known Lee Felix for a century. His secrets are mine, our emotions are one and the same. I know the anger in him runs deep. Anger at his mother, at the world, at himself. But most of all, the Volturi. Aro, the one who made him crave a dream that wasn’t even his own.

The dream that’s now coming true.

When Chan and I, plus Felix’s army, descended into the throne room, our only orders were to hit the ground and find someone to kill. My brothers are around me, fighting as hard as I am. Seungmin is a machine, dogged and brutal, and Haseong is holding his own. Chan, Jeongin and Hyunjin fight as a team, protecting each other’s backs.

I wish they weren’t here. I wish they were safe, somewhere no one could touch them.

I had hoped the same for Felix, for myself. Now that I’m here, bodies lying in our wake, it isn’t as difficult as I thought it’d be. To be angry, angry the way Felix is. I tear and claw and snarl and bite, and rage is behind all of it, as if these guards have wronged me. 

I didn’t realize that Felix’s anger had become mine as well.

##### felix pov

Just because I can, because it’s going so well, I sit atop one of Aro’s busts and watch the chaos unfold. The werewolves plow guards down like a hurricane, saliva spraying from their jowls. The vampires fight hard and fast, working in teams of threes and fours, taking pleasure in the kill.

“Felix!”

I look up. Minho and Jisung are on the far side of the room, Aro keeled over in front of them. I drop off my perch and walk through the brawl.

“Want to do the honours?” Minho ups the voltage; his arm courses with silvery-blue lightning and Aro hisses in pain.

I squat to face him at eye-level. He looks up at me, frothing at the mouth.

“You know something? It woulda been smart to kill me when you had the chance. Chopwell Park, 1922 — you remember, don’t you? Now how’s it feel? Thwarted by li’l old me? Your entire life, whoosh, down the toilet — seriously.” I yank his head back by his hair. “Tell me how it feels.”

He jerks forward, teeth bared and tries to bite me. I put my hands around his throat.

“This is for my mother.”

I tear his head off.


End file.
